How Shock Collars Work
I hate using the term "shock collars", let me explain why...... A typical dog training collar or Dog containment system or bark control collar delivers an electrical stimulus equal to 2 volts @ 20 Milliamps, or 0.000005 to 0.0003 Joules of energy. This compares with a TENS machine used on sore backs which pass a typical approx 2.0 Joules to 6.0 Joules of energy through your back. The amount of energy is approx 666,666 times greater than that of the Shock collar, yet we never hear a physio say to you "lay down and lets "SHOCK" your back ! No, they will say "lets do some muscle stimulation" or "lets run some pulses through your sore back". BTW just for your interest if you need your heart restarted the Defribilator provides approx 360 Joules to get the ticker going again. 1.2 million times stronger than a training collar on high.
The most common negative commentators of dog training collars are people who have never used a training collar. People fear what they don't understand, especially a subject that we have all been taught from a young age "FEAR ELECTRIC SHOCK" as a child we might touch a power point or extension cord and have our parents shout out a loud "NO" , later on in life we see the awesome power of lightning and the loud clap of thunder which scares people and animals
The typical dog training collar works so well because the collar is able to give a small stimulus right at the time that it is needed. For example a working dog rounding up sheep might get a bit too aggressive and bite a sheep. The farmer with one of the remote working dog training collars is able to give the correction within a second or two. The dog thinks hey everytime I bite a sheep it somehow bites me back. The dog can obviously cease the biting and cease getting the stimulus
We sometimes get the "positive only" reinforcement trainers turn their noses up at a dog training collar because its a shock , really, I mean 0.0003 Joules, sort of like touching your car door and getting a little zip, that's what it feels like. Personally I feel balanced dog training providing both positive and negative reinforcement provides a better balanced dog with a greater respect for the boss. The human race is based on positive and negative. If we get caught speeding - we get a negative reinforcement, how much regulation and legislation provides for negative reinforcement ?. In some states of the USA and other countries around the world you can be put to death for your crimes. The ultimate negative reinforcement. A puppy sticks its nose into an ants nest and stirs up the ants - yep negative reinforcement. A herd of zebra or antelope try crossing a creek full of crocodiles.........Yep, big learning experience for the remainder of the herd. The world is full of examples where negative reinforcement is used on animals and humans, so why is it that a dog should not have negative reinforcement at all? Dogs are pack animals led by the Alpha's. The Alpha Dogs do not do positive only, actually its quite opposite. A subordinate dog who steps out of line gets bites and growls, so again why is it that dogs should only get positive reinforcement ? , or is it just fashionable or "nice" to be positive only ? Grrrrrrrrrr.